Under the Galaxies
by AquaTurquoise
Summary: Sofia invites Cedric and Baileywick to go camping for the evening with her and the twins, and it ends up being quite a memorable event in many ways.


Under the Galaxies

Summary: Sofia invites Cedric and Baileywick to go camping for the evening with her and the twins, and it ends up being quite a memorable event in many ways.

Disclaimer: I don't own "Sofia the First" or the stars… Although there used to be a program (and may still be) where you can name a star after someone! I always wanted to do that… Ah, well. Lol

A/N: I blame my love and fascination with the stars on a book my mom bought me when I was a little girl. I fell in love with astronomy and wanted to be an astronaut…for about a week. :D The next week, I wanted to be a mermaid. :p Anyway! I still love the stars and stargazing, and I do have a telescope though I haven't used it in at least a decade. I should really get back to it at some point… :) Hope you all enjoy this, and here we go! *Side note: This story is dedicated to a sweet lady who passed away Tuesday night after a long battle with cancer. We love and will miss you, Mrs. Etta Mae.*

"No," Cedric declared firmly while pouring one liquid into a vial and then picking up another.

Sofia frowned and put her hands on her hips. "You didn't even hear my full question, Mr. Cedric," she argued with a pout. She then moved her hands to hold onto her purple overnight bag that rested against her back.

"Because, dear girl, I know what the question is. 'Mr. Cedric, will you go with me to watch some poorly written play?' Or, 'Mr. Cedric, will you chaperone my entire class on a month-long field trip?'"

The princess giggled. "I wouldn't ask that of you, and you're overreacting a bit." She climbed onto the chair in front of her and placed her hands on the table, leaning forward in his line of sight so he was forced to put the vial aside.

Cedric sighed. "Very well. What _do_ you want, Sofia?"

"Come with James, Amber, and me tonight to camp out and watch the stars." She smiled sweetly, making him blink.

"…A camping trip?" he asked in confusion. "_You_ want _me_ to go camping? As in…battling the cold for a full night with the troublesome twins of Enchancia just so we can have a better view of the stars?"

The auburn-haired girl grinned and nodded. She wasn't going to take no for an answer, and she knew that he knew that, so it was really only a matter of time, not to mention a battle of wills.

"What's in it for me?" Cedric smirked at her.

"A night away from work," she responded confidently. "Plus quality time with me, and with Amber and James. We already have everything set up too!"

"Oh, goody." He sighed and shrugged. "Well, I suppose one night won't really matter. The work will still be here when I return…"

"That's right," she coaxed with a smile, jumping down to the floor and taking his hand, already pulling him toward the door. "Let's go, Mr. Cedric!"

"Wait!" He looked back at the table and retrieved his wand and a half-eaten Fly Cake. "All right, now we can go." He stored the wand in his sleeve and munched on his snack as Sofia giggled and took his free hand, leading him from the tower.

"Do you think you have enough bags for our _overnight_ camping trip?" James asked his twin sarcastically as he looked at the seven different colored bags Amber was fawning over. He adjusted his own single backpack on his shoulders.

"James, these bags aren't just for me," Amber retorted as she pointed at each one. "This gold one is my dress bag. The blue one is for medical emergencies. The green one has blankets and pillows. The pink one has every hygiene necessity, and the purple one has shoes."

James raised an eyebrow. "What about the orange and white bags?" he asked, though he had a feeling he already knew.

She grinned. "Those are my tiara bags, of course." Hearing her brother's exasperated sigh, she frowned. "You can't expect a princess to depart from her tiaras for a second, dear brother. What if the castle is broken into while we're gone? I'm not running the risk of losing my tiaras, especially since Daddy took great care to get each one." She nodded and smiled thoughtfully.

"Whatever you say, Amber." He looked to the side and grinned when he saw his other sister and the rather happy-looking sorcerer walk inside the room. "Hey, Sof. Cedric, you're looking kind of cheerful tonight."

"He just had a Fly Cake," Sofia explained with a giggle. "The way to a sorcerer's happiness is to give him sweets."

"Honestly, Princess," Cedric scoffed with a roll of his eyes. "You make it sound as though I'm simplistic or something."

"Not simplistic, Mr. Cedric… Just easy to please." She smiled happily.

"Well, are we all here?" Amber asked as she looked around at the other three. "If we're going to do this whole 'camping' thing, we had better get to the site before it gets too dark." She waved her hand and indicated to a few castle workers the bags that needed to be carried to their camping site, and she started leading the way.

"How did you two convince Princess Amber to go camping?" Cedric wondered as he looked at the two younger royals.

"Bribery," James answered with a sneaky smile.

Sofia shook her head as Cedric looked toward her curiously. "Don't ask…"

As they began to head toward the door to the castle, Baileywick stopped them before they could exit.

"Do you all have enough blankets?" he asked.

"Yes, Mother," Cedric drawled sarcastically, making James snicker.

"I'm serious, Cedric," the steward replied with a frown, folding his arms. "The last thing I need is to explain to His Majesty why all three of his children have a cold when they return from this camping trip of theirs. And what if they get hurt?"

James pointed toward Amber's blue bag in one of the worker's hands. "Amber has a bag of emergency supplies. We'll be fine, Baileywick."

Sofia pondered something for a moment before smiling. "Would you like to come with us, Baileywick?"

"Me?"

"Him?" the other three asked in unison.

"Why not? It's only for the night. And it's not like you're on duty at this hour." The youngest royal smiled gently and took his hands. "Please, Baileywick?"

He blinked. "Well, I… I suppose…I do have some experience with this, especially after chaperoning you and your friends some time ago." He shrugged. "Very well, Princess Sofia. But I must return early in order to be ready for the next day."

"Okay! We'll make sure you get back in time."

Baileywick took a few minutes to gather a simple overnight bag before meeting up with the other four. He then took a second glance at the other castle workers holding Amber's bags before looking toward the blonde girl pointedly.

She smiled sweetly. "What?"

"Cedric, can you use a spell to carry Princess Amber's bags so the workers can retire for the evening?"

Cedric shrugged and wielded his wand, uttering a spell and making the bags float up from the workers' hands.

Seeing that they were no longer needed, the castle workers bid the five campers farewell and left for the night.

The trek to the camping site didn't take long at all, and once the quintet arrived and set their bags aside, they then started a fire to stay warm.

"Wow," Sofia sighed in awe as she looked up at the sky. "Look how pretty, Mr. Cedric." She pointed upward at a cluster of stars.

"Mm, yes," he said with a nod as he sat next to her on one of the pillows Amber had brought. "It is rather peaceful out here, isn't it?"

She grinned up at him. "And to think, you were going to miss all of this just because you wanted to _work_."

He chuckled and folded his arms. "Indeed."

They both turned when Amber let out a sharp gasp and leapt to Baileywick's side, clinging to him in fear.

"Something just crawled across my ankle!" she squeaked, squeezing her eyes shut and whimpering at all the thoughts that shot through her mind about what creepy-crawly thing could have invaded her space.

The steward calmly reached down and lifted a broken dandelion from her ankle and gently placed it on the other side of the campsite. He looked down toward Amber and smiled. "It's all right, Princess Amber. It was only a dandelion."

She opened her eyes and shivered. "Thank you, Baileywick. I'm not cut out for this camping thing, I guess…"

James smirked. "I never would have guessed." He laughed when she shot him a look. "By the way, you're probably cutting off Baileywick's circulation by now."

The princess blinked but released her friend's arm and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Baileywick…"

"It's fine," he assured her. "That's what I'm here for."

"Look," Sofia told them all as she returned to her stargazing. "Mr. Cedric, why does the sky look like that?"

"That, my dear, is the Milky Way." He noticed her shaking a little, so he grabbed one of the nearby blankets and unfolded it, draping it over Sofia's shoulders. Seeing her smile in gratitude and sigh in relief, he gestured back toward the sky. "It's a huge galaxy, and often the clusters of stars make colorful combinations. It's quite beautiful, really."

"How far away are the stars?" James asked curiously as he sat next to Cedric's other side.

"You'd probably never reach them, I'm afraid. They may not look that far, but it would take a very long time to reach even the closest star, if one had that capability. It's best just to stay here." Grasping his wand, Cedric created a small telescope and handed it to James, whose eyes lit up in excitement as he accepted the instrument and began his own stargazing technique. "Stars are interesting things, aren't they? And in reality, there's so much more to them than we realize."

Sofia smiled and held her blanket tighter before leaning against her mentor, who didn't react in surprise as he normally would have. "What's your favorite star, Mr. Cedric?"

He pointed up toward one of the brightest stars with his free hand. "That one right there. I call it 'Lucida,' because it shines brightly."

"Wow, that's really pretty," Amber gushed as she reached over Sofia and Cedric to grab the telescope from James.

"Hey!"

"It's my turn," she explained with a grin as she held it to her eye. She frowned. "Why does everything look so strange through this thing?"

Baileywick smiled in amusement and turned the telescope around. "Try it now, Princess Amber."

"Oh…" She grinned as she looked through the scope, able to see clearly. "Wow, amazing!"

The night continued much in the same manner, with everyone getting along rather well for once. The twins weren't arguing. Cedric and Baileywick were being civil with each other. And Sofia wasn't having to keep the peace. In fact, she was the first one to fall asleep.

"I'm surprised she's asleep so soon," Amber commented with a giggle. "She was so excited about the trip."

"It's been a long week," James reminded her. "Three tests and a party will do that to you." He stood up and motioned for Amber, so they both helped pull the girl to her feet, even groggy in her state. "Come on, Sofia. Cedric wants to be able to feel his arm again."

The sorcerer smiled, rolling his eyes, and shook out his arm Sofia had used for a pillow for the last hour or so.

Amber pulled out more pillows and blankets, setting up makeshift pallets around the campsite. She helped James get Sofia onto her pallet and placed the blanket over her as she returned to her sleeping state. "Sleep well, Sofia."

Afterward, the twins lay on their own pallets and went to sleep, leaving the two adults still awake and watching them carefully.

"So what method did they use to get _you_ here?" Baileywick asked curiously as he held his hands out toward the fire.

"Guilt," Cedric responded honestly with a small laugh. "Sofia's actually pretty good at that."

"That's fairly obvious, considering how many times she's talked you into doing things I highly doubt you would have done otherwise."

The sorcerer shrugged tiredly and leaned forward slightly. "What can I say? She's persistent."

"I should say so," Baileywick laughed.

They continued their discussion for a little while longer before finally turning in for the night. Both had the same conclusion: it was nice to have a change of scenery, and it was interesting how well they got along when they weren't surrounded by "obligations" or the castle life. At some point, maybe they really could become friends instead of reluctant acquaintances. Who was to say?

As the five campers fell into comfortable silence and a dreamlike haze, the blanket of stars wrapped around them, keeping them safe and sound as the night waned on.

The end

A/N: Hmm… This ended up being a little more philosophical/serious than I meant it to. Lol. Why do stars always bring out the "seriousness" in me?! Haha, oh, well. I'll be stargazing during Spring Break for sure, and I think it's time to break out my telescope for the first time in forever (yes, that was a blatant "Frozen" reference, hehe).

CedricAmber: I'm glad you liked your dedication story. :) You deserve it, after sticking with me for so long. I'm planning to expand more on their friendship, and I'll probably put them through a few situations eventually… We'll see. :D And "Cinderella" was great, but "Frozen Fever" …was ADORABLE. Hope you get to see it soon! Good to know I'm not the only seafood hater. :p Haha.


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